Pirate Bay Founder Arrested Again On Suspicion Of New Hacking & Fraud Offenses

Every other Friday there is a court hearing in Sweden to discuss the continued detainment of Gottfrid Svartholm. A request to detain the Pirate Bay co-founder for an additional two weeks was granted yesterday but not without more drama being added to the proceedings. Gottfrid was arrested under suspicion of being involved in a second hacking case along with accusations of four instances of serious fraud and four attempted frauds. Further details of the alleged crimes are being kept secret.

As reported in detail last month, Pirate Bay co-founder Gottfrid Svartholm is currently being detained in Sweden, locked up for 23 hours a day in solitary confinement.

He is being held under suspicion of hacking into Logica, an IT company closely connected to Sweden’s tax authorities.

Every second week there are additional court hearings where the prosecutor in the case asks for Gottfrid to be held in custody for another two weeks while the case develops. The latest hearing yesterday saw Gottfrid’s detention extended, but not without new developments.

The prosecutor presented new accusations against the Swede, namely that he was involved in a second case of criminal hacking, including four instances of serious fraud and four instances of attempted fraud.

“The new suspicions mean that the court can keep Gottfrid in custody even if the Logica case is closed in the near future,” Gottfrid’s mother Kristina Svartholm informs TorrentFreak.

“This is less probable though – the prosecutor and all 15 police officers working on the case seem to be prolonging the case as much as possible. Of course it is easier for them to work when Gottfrid is kept in custody and without any real contacts with the world outside.”

At this point we’d like to be able to provide information on these fresh allegations but that’s proven impossible. Sadly, pretty much everyone is being kept in the dark.

“Just as with the Logica case everything is very hush-hush,” Kristina explains.

“The doors were closed when it was time for the prosecutor to present the details. Thus it is unknown to me who or what this new hacking thing was directed to and what the frauds and the associated attempts to defraud were really all about.”

But despite the setbacks of yesterday and Gottfrid’s continued imprisonment, there does appear to be some basis for cautious optimism on a couple of fronts. First, that his conditions of confinement may improve sooner rather than later.

“The court seemed a bit reluctant to keep Gottfrid in solitary confinement for a new two week period,” Kristina reports. “Hopefully the restrictions he is under will be removed next time, November 23, whatever the prosecutor asks for. Custody alone is more than enough isolation.”

Häktet i Sollentuna prison

The second piece of good news is that Gottfrid’s spirits and determination remain as strong as ever.

“The most important thing was to see that Gottfrid is fine and he keeps the gleam in his eye. We haven’t met lately – I am allowed to visit him for an hour every week but this week the police men that must go with me to listen to our conversations didn’t have time to do so,” says Kristina.

“This has happened before. Of course the uncertainty this creates makes his time in isolation more difficult. This is of course also obvious both to the police and to the prosecutor.”

Finally, and as readers will recall, last month Kristina invited TorrentFreak readers and Gottfrid supporters everywhere to write to her son. She is very grateful for the response, so we end this update with her message to all the well-wishers.

“I wish to thank all those hundreds and hundreds of people that have sent their support to Gottfrid through email. This has been just overwhelming. I wish I could thank you all personally!”

“I have learned so much about what TPB means to people. I feel so proud not only of what Gottfrid did but also of the other guys and what they created together. I am also proud of the crew that works on it today. THANKS!!!”